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Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

El Guepardo said:
I think Lennon is a victim in the change of style. As said, unless we use him as a traditional style, stay wide, winger then he'll fail to come back in to the side.
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How about you wait until he is fit before you write him off dude? Talk about kick a man when he is down
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

DHSF said:
I wont put a dampener on things but there have been too many times under AVB where we have produced a very good performance one which was full of creativity and style with a certain impetus. There have also been many many times where we have lacked ideas, devoid of creativity and ultimately looked disjointed. Im not going to jump on any bandwagon - afterall its more than one game against Norwich.
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Too many times??
Can there be such a thing?
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

NaijaSpurs said:
How about you wait until he is fit before you write him off dude? Talk about kick a man when he is down
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He was poor in the first game of the season too. I know that was just a one off game.

I would love him to prove to be a success. Over the years, I have been one of the few who have been relenting against a sale of the player. I always thought that Lennon was a player who could excite with his pace. A player that could leave the opposition on the back foot and has a decent finishing rate. I have defended his ability to finish chances, against those who said that he wasn't a natural goal scorer.

I just don't think that he will fit within our side and with the tactic and strategy that we are using. Let's see what happens with Lennon but I don't think that he would fit in at the moment sadly.
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

El Guepardo said:
He was poor in the first game of the season too. I know that was just a one off game.
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He might have been poor but he was still our best attacking player in that game, the only threat we had was from him down the right flank
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

Ruthless Villas-Boas outcasts senior players as he bids to make Tottenham title challengers

SPECIAL REPORT
By Greg Stobart

One criticism of Andre Villas-Boas’ brief and ill-fated spell as Chelsea manager was the way he tried to shake up the squad too soon and fell out with a number of popular players.

The Portuguese learned the lessons from his treatment players like Alex and Nicolas Anelka at Stamford Bridge by treading carefully when he first took over Tottenham, but he is now again showing that ruthless man-management streak.

This time, he has the backing of the board, is secure in his role and comfortable making big decisions that he feels will benefit the team in the long run.

Emmanuel Adebayor, for example, is unlikely to feature any time soon as he trains with the reserves. The Togolese striker has been hit by personal tragedy recently but training ground sources claim the pair fell out a number of times last season and Villas-Boas believes his poor attitude in training has an adverse affect the rest of the squad.

Indeed, Spurs tried desperately to sell Adebayor over the summer - or to allow him to join another club on loan - but nobody was willing to match the striker’s mammoth wages, with a pay cut out of the question, and he was reluctant to leave London.

It means Adebayor remains at White Hart Lane but has been cut off from the first-team squad, much like Benoit Assou-Ekotto before he was granted a loan move to Championship side QPR on the final day of the transfer window.

In the Cameroonian's case, it was again a question of attitude. Assou-Ekotto was involved in Spurs’ pre-season tour in Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy but on his return was told he was surplus to requirements. The left-back was ordered to stay away from the first-team.

Other players, including Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, have been involved in training ground arguments with Villas-Boas and their playing time has suffered for it, with the latter currently well behind the club’s stated schedule as he recovers from a foot injury.

Villas-Boas is keenly analytical of the mentality of individuals and the squad as a whole, and spoke after Saturday’s win over Norwich of the need for winners; players who hate to lose and raise their game when most needed.

As Spurs prepare to kick-off their Europa League campaign against Tromso on Thursday night, Villas-Boas can pick from a squad he has built having spent the best part of £100 million on new signings over the summer with the full backing of the board.

The depth of the club’s squad, plus the growth of his own power base, means Villas-Boas has no time for players who display a lack of commitment or question his authority as manager.

He admits himself that the biggest challenge this season will be assimilating the seven summer signings and, with a new team made up of different nationalities, build a culture and team spirit - not to mention on-pitch tactical understanding - for immediate success.

For those reasons, Villas-Boas has sought to play down talk of a title challenge for Tottenham this season, insisting the focus is on finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League after missing out by just one point last term.

His public statements have also been a message to his famously ambitious chairman Daniel Levy, who has privately spoken of his belief that Spurs can challenge for major honours as early as this season.

Summer transfers and managerial changes mean that any one of six clubs could win the title this summer, and Levy feels Spurs have a shot, with a top four finish the minimum and most important requirement.

Villas-Boas, for his part, believes Tottenham can win the Premier League next season if they continue to follow his blueprint. So far, he is getting his way.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/09/19/4272836/-?

=D>
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

hmmm..not so sure i like this.

oucasting players can be very tricky business

edit:- there is one poster in particular i would appreciate not replying to my post above......as i would clearly see more hypocrisy in your post with regards to this matter and would , as always, make me slightly irritable LOL.
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

i will say one thing though, it helps to change the personell in a whole sale manner. that way when you start making enemies of popular players then the effects are less
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

africanspurs said:
hmmm..not so sure i like this.

oucasting players can be very tricky business

edit:- there is one poster in particular i would appreciate not replying to my post above......as i would clearly see more hypocrisy in your post with regards to this matter and would , as always, make me slightly irritable LOL.
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outcasting players is not nice, however i think AVB simply wants to change the mentality of the squad where winning is all that matters and every player has to be on board with this. There is no time for sulking, for taking it easy in training, not being wholly committed to the cause. AVB seems to believe he now has the full backing of Levy so any player not toeing the line will simply be ruthlessly discarded and replaced, a task made easier now with someone like Baldini on board.
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

indianspur said:
outcasting players is not nice, however i think AVB simply wants to change the mentality of the squad where winning is all that matters and every player has to be on board with this. There is no time for sulking, for taking it easy in training, not being wholly committed to the cause. AVB seems to believe he now has the full backing of Levy so any player not toeing the line will simply be ruthlessly discarded and replaced, a task made easier now with someone like Baldini on board.
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yeah i hear you. i just have never been a fan of that, at least from a non footballing perspective.

it does make sense but should surely be done in a more diplomatic fashion?

having said that it probably was done in a diplomatic fashion AND the papers are just trying to sell papers by making it out to be more than it is

i dont know. i just hope his attitude in chelsea isnt coming here now that he has his 109 mil worth of selected purchases. people get humbled for a reason...to learn from their mistakes
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

africanspurs said:
yeah i hear you. i just have never been a fan of that, at least from a non footballing perspective.

it does make sense but should surely be done in a more diplomatic fashion?

having said that it probably was done in a diplomatic fashion AND the papers are just trying to sell papers by making it out to be more than it is

i dont know. i just hope his attitude in chelsea isnt coming here now that he has his 109 mil worth of selected purchases. people get humbled for a reason...to learn from their mistakes
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I think if AVB considers it worthwhile considering his experience in football (I know he isn't experienced in the grand scheme of things, but he must learn a hell of a lot through various coaching seminars and discussions with peers in terms of coaching, team building etc) then I don't think outcasting players is necessarily a bad thing or something that is only bad. I guess it helps to create a single mindset among the players and not have any bad eggs in the squad (no Jose pun intended).

Ramos did it, and it didn't necessarily work but it can be easily argued he failed for other reasons. I just think, are our players going to think 'what a ****, he's outcasted Ade and Benny, I don't like him and I'm not going to play for this club anymore' or are they going to think '****, if I don't stay focussed I will be out on my ****, and will have ****ed away a great opportunity at a top club in one of the best leagues in the world.'

I would argue that if AVB did this last year, the former would have been the collective mindset of the team, and that's what happened at Chelsea. But this year, he has proven himself to the players, and to the board. The players know now that if they kick up a fuss that they aren't as close to Levy like Chelsea's were to Roman, so there is no way of going around the manager. He has the authority and is going to be backed, and any questioning of that will reflect badly on the player in question, not on the manager. I'd argue that he has handled it diplomatically because he gave Ade, Benny, Lennon and Defoe ample opportunities to play last year. He didn't ship them out immediately. He gave them a year to prove themselves and to get to know their personalities.

If he thinks players are coasting and doesn't want that attitude in the squad then I trust him to kick them out to be honest. He wouldn't be doing it to talented players lightly, he will have had a year to really get to know them.

Do you think someone like Holtby is a sulker or a moaner? Will he ever shirk? Not a chance. He is going to get his opportunities. We need a squad of players like that, chomping at the bit to get in the team. Ade and Benny are reflective of Harry's years, languid players capable of absolute brilliance and maddening inconsistency on occasions. Needing an arm around the shoulder or preferential treatment to get them fired up again. I'm fine with having an entire squad full of mentally tough bastards who won't take any **** from any of their team mates. It's how champions are made.
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

BrainOfLevy said:
I think if AVB considers it worthwhile considering his experience in football (I know he isn't experienced in the grand scheme of things, but he must learn a hell of a lot through various coaching seminars and discussions with peers in terms of coaching, team building etc) then I don't think outcasting players is necessarily a bad thing or something that is only bad. I guess it helps to create a single mindset among the players and not have any bad eggs in the squad (no Jose pun intended).

Ramos did it, and it didn't necessarily work but it can be easily argued he failed for other reasons. I just think, are our players going to think 'what a ****, he's outcasted Ade and Benny, I don't like him and I'm not going to play for this club anymore' or are they going to think '****, if I don't stay focussed I will be out on my ****, and will have ****ed away a great opportunity at a top club in one of the best leagues in the world.'

I would argue that if AVB did this last year, the former would have been the collective mindset of the team, and that's what happened at Chelsea. But this year, he has proven himself to the players, and to the board. The players know now that if they kick up a fuss that they aren't as close to Levy like Chelsea's were to Roman, so there is no way of going around the manager. He has the authority and is going to be backed, and any questioning of that will reflect badly on the player in question, not on the manager. I'd argue that he has handled it diplomatically because he gave Ade, Benny, Lennon and Defoe ample opportunities to play last year. He didn't ship them out immediately. He gave them a year to prove themselves and to get to know their personalities.

If he thinks players are coasting and doesn't want that attitude in the squad then I trust him to kick them out to be honest. He wouldn't be doing it to talented players lightly, he will have had a year to really get to know them.

Do you think someone like Holtby is a sulker or a moaner? Will he ever shirk? Not a chance. He is going to get his opportunities. We need a squad of players like that, chomping at the bit to get in the team. Ade and Benny are reflective of Harry's years, languid players capable of absolute brilliance and maddening inconsistency on occasions. Needing an arm around the shoulder or preferential treatment to get them fired up again. I'm fine with having an entire squad full of mentally tough bastards who won't take any **** from any of their team mates. It's how champions are made.
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good post.

still not ignoring all the good points you made. i just think from a personal , not a footballing experience, that the carrot and tact is much better than the stick and an iron fist when dealing with players on a personal level....man management

having said that......ALL of the top coaches are ruthless muther ****ers......maybe not ALL of them, but most of them are. but i feel its when their rep has given them that room to be able to act in such a way. not sure AVB has that rep yet
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

wait

since when has benny needed arms round his shoulder and preferential treatment?

the man is a consistent professional. there is nothing to say otherwise surely?
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

africanspurs said:
wait

since when has benny needed arms round his shoulder and preferential treatment?

the man is a consistent professional. there is nothing to say otherwise surely?
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Benny is cool as ****, he needs nothing.

He probably thinks AVB is a season ticket holder for the premium pitch-side seats...
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

africanspurs said:
wait

since when has benny needed arms round his shoulder and preferential treatment?

the man is a consistent professional. there is nothing to say otherwise surely?
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Actually, I share your concerns with that piece in general, but on the above we actually don't know that. There's a fine line between laid-back and sloppy. It's possible BAE slipped from one to the other as frustration at injuries and indifferent form got on top of him. I can very well imagine Benny being less than an ideal figure on the training ground in these circumstances. Besides, he's gone now and isn't coming back, so we should move on.

But on this I share your concern because JD and AL still have a lot to offer:

Other players, including Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, have been involved in training ground arguments with Villas-Boas and their playing time has suffered for it, with the latter currently well behind the club’s stated schedule as he recovers from a foot injury.
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Playing time should suffer because of poor attitude or poor form, not because they have disagreements with the coach or are struggling following injury. Now, I don't believe every word of that piece, but I hope AVB isn't being too hard on these two, because they are the types who need some love and still have a lot to offer. For example, for me AL is still a potential 1st team starter if he can find form.
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

Chancer: That statement seems speculative at best to me. Unless AVB has admitted in private to Stobart that the pair of them have or will get less time on the pitch as a result of training ground arguments with AVB then there's no real way of knowing if that's the case or not. I doubt AVB would admit to something like that even if it was true and I also very much doubt that it is true.

Sometimes players will struggle for game time despite not showing a poor attitude or poor form quite simply by the virtue of other players doing even better or better players being brought in for example. Lennon might find himself on the bench more because of improved performances from Townsend, or because of the purchases of Lamela, Eriksen or Chadli etc or a combination of those. That loss of playing time might follow a training ground argument or two, but that's hardly evidence that one caused the other.
 
Re: AVB On Reals Madrid's Short List For New Manager

I must have missed all these players being frozen out, Adebayor and Ekotto are the only i can think of- Ade, i think it's fair to say has brought it on himself whilst the Ekotto doesn't really seem much like an AVB type 'character' - as much as i love/rate him im sure his attitude of 'i don't even know who our next opponents/new signings are' would be at odds with a lot of managers prefered squad personalities.

Mountain/molehill comes to mind
 
Re: AVB - Making Tottenham His Own

I actually Benny's issue is the injury that prevented him from passing a medical at some team in France this summer. Same goes for Hudd - long term injury. While his lethargic personality obviously doesn't help, we also can't afford fullbacks who aren't at peak athleticism in our system.

Ade we have no idea what's really going on, but AVB did give him plenty of chances last season and he's been missing all summer. It may well be that his form and fitness just aren't good enough atm, little to do with AVB freezing him out. I'll note that the likes of Rose have come out with some less-than-clever 'play me or else' statements, but AVB seems perfectly fine with indulging him thus far.
 
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